SAI - News

Publication of new articles and talk by Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah in Paris

On December 18th, 10.30 a.m. Prof. Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah (Allama Iqbal Professor, South Asia Institute-University of Heidelberg) will give a talk on “Gender and Politics in Pakistan: The Political Role of Pashtun Women in Historical Perspective” on a CEIAS-conference in Paris.

The conference takes place at Centre d'études de l'Inde et de l'Asie du sud, room 638, 190 avenue de France, 75013 Paris.
Further information is available here.

Prof. Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah also published new articles from two reputed journals.

The 1930 Civil Disobedience Movement in Peshawar Valley from the Pashtoon Perspective
Studies in History 29 (I) 87-118, Sage Publications

Like other parts of India, the civil disobedience movement was also launched in North–West Frontier Province (Khyber–Pakhtoonkhwa), although initially with little success. The local Congress sought help from the Khudai Khidmatgars, the most popular socio-political organization of the province; 23 April 1930 saw the worst kind of massacre in Peshawar, followed by other parts of the Province. During the civil disobedience, the colonial administration tried all kinds of draconian methods to suppress the movement but in vain. The purpose of the present research is to investigate and analyze the civil disobedience and its impact in the Peshawar Valley, hitherto neglected by the scholars and thereby help provide a new and deeper understanding of the whole scenario. In a much broader context and in a wider perspective, however, the present study will encompass the following main issues: (a) Indian Muslims and the civil disobedience movement launched by Congress under Mahatma Gandhi; (b) the Frontier Congress and its failure in mobilization of people to support civil disobedience; (c) the altruistic leadership of Abdul Ghaffar Khan and the Khudai Khidmatgars’ tangible support within the masses; (d) the atrocities of the colonial administration and the predicament of the local population; (e) adherence to non-violence, a unique phenomenon for the Pashtoons; (f) the interplay of the religion and politics; (g) the complexity of the Khudai Khidmatgar–Congress relations; and, (h) the role of charismatic leadership. The present research will be focusing on these and other similar crucial issues previously undervalued.

Fencing of the Durand Line and Its Impact
Internationales Asienforum, Vol. 44 (2013), No, 1-2, pp.85-103

To avoid a direct clash, the boundaries between British India and Afghanistan were demarcated in 1893. The Afghan Amir renounced his claim to certain areas, which were permanently annexed to British India and the successive Afghan rulers recog-nised it as international frontier. However, on the eve of the partition of India, the Afghan Government demanded that its former territories should be handed back to Afghanistan. Since then it has been a contentious issue between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The purpose of the present research is to unravel and analyse the factors responsible for the demarcation of the Durand Line and the new dimensions of the whole scenario in the wake of the tragic events of 9/11 and the US invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. Other issues dealt with include: (a) the ouster of the Taliban regime; (b) the regrouping of the Taliban and al Qaida in the tribal areas of Pakistan and their intrusion into Afghanistan; (c) the presence of Pakistani troops in the tribal territories and its repercussions; (d) the unchecked cross-border infiltration and its impact; and (e) the fencing of the Durand Line and the Afghan reaction.

12 Dec 2013

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